A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will continue its hearing today in the petitions challenging the decision of the Central Government to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by diluting Article 370 of the Constitution.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Surya Kant will hear...
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will continue its hearing today in the petitions challenging the decision of the Central Government to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by diluting Article 370 of the Constitution.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Surya Kant will hear the matter. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued for the first three days. Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanian completed his arguments yesterday.
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The hearings conclude for the day. The matter will resume on August 16, 2023.
Dhavan: This is unprecedented. If for example you wanted to make a UT of Delhi, you'd pass a constitutional amendment. But here you've converted through Art 3 and 4 two UTs from a state.
Dhavan: This will be the only occassion in the history of India where a state has been reduced to a Union territory.
Dhavan: On SC/STs we have a separate section. Our affirmative action is different than the entire world.
Dhavan takes the bench through the text of Articles 3 and 4 of the J&K constitution.
Dhavan: The diversity is not just limited to the special provisions from 370(1) onwards. But in fact, for Nagaland and Mizoram, it says that you'll need the legislature of the state to act before you interfere with any customs.
Dhavan: Take Art 3(4). This is the Achilles heel of the constitution. That there is no territorial integrity. It is so peculiar to the Indian Constitution that we don't find a parallel in any other constitution.
Dhavan: We have to honour the historic promises made to the people. Our constitution is replete with promises made to people.
Dhavan: India is the most diverse country in the world. That diversity is reflected in this Constitution. And it's not just Art 370, there are many other articles where legislatures of states' concurrence is required.
Senior Advocate Rajeev Dhavan: I don't understand electronics. So I can't rely on iPads.